What is the ideal/acceptable load time of a windows desktop software that does not frustrate the user and make him to use an alternative.Is 4 seconds acceptable ? I find that embedding 3RD party dlls pushes the load time to 4 seconds .. If i just copy the dlls the launch time can be reduced to 3 seconds or 2.XX seconds.
I use this these dlls for skinning the winforms application.I personally don't like to keep these exposed to prevent competitors from finding out what I use.
The ideal time is 0 sec, but depending on the application, it is hard to reach. An application takes as long as it needs (Have look at Visual Studio for example, when opening a project I go to the coffee machine).
I wouldn't embbed the dll. It is not worth the cost, especialy you (or the competitor) can see them anyway with assembly explorers like dotPeak.
For distribution, you would create a setup wizzard, so the user wouldn't see them too.